Toy and sports device

ABSTRACT

A toy- and sports device comprising a twisted or coiled structure consisting of individual interconnected tubular elements, the tubular elements possessing a substantially circular-shaped cross-section, and wherein at least a number of these individual elements are constructed as arcuate elements. The elements have an interior diameter of a size to admit a child. The connections between the tubular elements permit them to rotate relative to one another so that upper tubular elements may rest on lower tubular elements.

[ July 22, 1975 3,667,785 6/1972 Kapeker....................... 285/DIG.22 3,752,472 8/1973 Snead 272/60 R FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS e a Um e :k. d Z EL VZ m m S m n W3 SW W: r Am m m Tm M 5m 1221, Binz,Switzerland Dec. 18, 1973 1,177,052 1964Germany...............1........... 272/60 R [22] Filed:

Primary Examiner Richard C. Pinkham [21] Appl. No.: 425,767

Assistant ExaminerJoseph R. Taylor Attorney, Agent, or Firm-Ladas,Parry, Von Gehr, [30] Foreign Application Priority Data G01 dsmith &Deschamps Dec. 21, 1972 Switzerland...................... 18636/72 [57]ABSTRACT and sports device comprising a twisted or coiled structureconsisting of individual intercon- [52] US. 272/60 R; 273/DIG. 7

A toynected tubular elements, the tubular elements possessing asubstantially circular-shaped cross-section, and wherein at least anumber of these individual elements are constructed as arcuate elements.The elements have an interior diameter of a size to admit a child.

we W 5 4 n DD A5 M m7 "/0 "24 7 "2 WK mmoo "m2 m 7 mm Max S2 mfm 0 d Ld.l .mF I] 100 55 [I [56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1 Theconnections between the tubular elements permit 866,785 them to rotaterelative to one another so that upper 1,839,761 tubular elements mayrest on lower tubular elements.

272/60 R 18 Claims, 5 Drawing Figures 12/1969 Lieberman.

mm mm ..n0 1 HHH 725 036 999 111 l// 9.11 1

PATENTED JUL 2 2 ms SHEET LEEMV III/I/I/I PATENTEDJUL 22 ms 8 95 796 saw3 I Fig. 5

TOY AND SPORTS DEVICE BACKGROUND AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Thepresent invention broadly relates to the field of toys and sportingdevices, and specifically concerns a new and improved construction oftoyand sporting device.

It is a primary object of the present invention to provide a new andimproved construction of toyand sporting device which is relativelysimple in construction and design, economical to manufacture, and fun touse.

Another object of this invention relates to a toyand sports deviceformed of individual tubular elements connected with one another andwhich are relatively simple in construction and design, relatively safeto use, and capable of being easily assembled and disassembled intodifferent configurations.

Now in order to implement these and still further ob jects of theinvention, which will become more readily apparent as the descriptionproceeds, the toyand sporting or sports device of this development ismanifested by the features that it is constituted by a twisted or coiledstructure composed of a number of tubular elements which areinterconnected with one another, the tubular elements possessing asubstantially circularshaped cross-sectional configuration and at leasta number of these individual elements are constructed as arcuate orarcuate-shaped elements.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The invention will be betterunderstood and objects other than those set forth above, will becomeapparent when consideration is given to the following detaileddescription thereof. Such description makes reference to the annexeddrawings wherein:

FIGII is a perspective view of an exemplary embodiment of toyand sportsdevice according to the invention;

FIG. 2 illustrates two individual elements of the toyand sports deviceof FIG. I connected with one another;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of the connection location inaxial direction and taken substantially along the line III-III of FIG.2',

FIG. 4 is a section in radial direction of a ring through its connectionlocation and likewise shown on an enlarged scale; and

FIG. 5 is a sectional view of a further construction of the connectionbetween two individual elements.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Describing now thedrawings, in FIG. 1 there is shown an exemplary embodiment of toyandsports device as contemplated by this invention and which will be seento comprise a three-dimensionally coiled or twisted substantiallytubular-shaped structure S open at both ends. This structure S can bedimensioned such that entry and movement through such tubular-shapedstructure can be carried out by small children while in a standingposition and by larger children while crawling. The lowermost tubularelements bear upon a support surface, typically the floor or ground, andthe upper situated tubular elements bear against the associated lowersituated tubular elements. The outer wall of the structure is completelysmooth. The inner wall thereof has surface properties constituted byirregularities or unevenness and a certain degree of roughness, so thatthere is present between the body of the user and the wall thefrictional resistance necessary for movement through these tubularelements which are inclined with regard to the horizontal. The averagediameter of the structure S remains constant or substantially constantfrom one end to the other. This structure S is assembled from bothlinear i.e. straight and arcuate-shaped plastic tubular elements 1 and 3respectively.

However, the dimensions are not of decisive importance. The tubularelements 1, 3 can be also dimensioned in such a way that they form a toywhich can be easily manually assembled together, through which, forinstance, a ball or sphere can be rolled. Moreover, the individualelements can be filled with a suitable filler material or machined orotherwise worked from a solid body so that they constitute rod-shapedstructures.

As should be apparent from FIG. 2 both ends of the tubular elementswhich are formed of plastic, such as for instance glass fiber-reinforcedpolyester, are cut in a plane which is perpendicular to the axis of thetube. The glass fiber reinforcement consists of a number of layers ofglass fiber webs or fabrics which are mutually connected with oneanother and with the polyester by any suitable binder. The lineartubular element 1 possesses a lateral entry and exit opening 2 forinstance at its side wall. The axis of the curved or arcuate tubularelement 3 describes one-quarter of an arc of a circle. Furthermore, thebent or arc-shaped tubular element 3 does not have any lateral entry andexit opening.

Now as best seen by referring to FIGS. 2 and 3 which depict on anenlarged scale two neighboring tubular elements, namely anarcuate-shaped or curved tubular element 3 and a linear or straighttubular element 1, in each case the neighboring tubular elements of thestructure S are detachably connected with one another by a sheet metalring or ring member 4. Each tubular element 1 and 3 is stepped or insetat its end region 5 at the location of its outer wall along itsperiphery, as particularly well depicted in FIG. 3; in this inset orstepped portion 20 there is located such a sheet metal ring 4.

The length of the stepped region or portion 20 of each tubular element1, 3 in axial direction corresponds to essentially one-half of the axiallength of the associated ring 4. The depth of the stepped region orportion 20 essentially corresponds to the thickness of such ring, sothat the outer diameter of each such tubular element at any randomlocation corresponds to the outer diameter of the ring 4 which isspanned or clamped at the stepped region or portion. Each stepped region20 is additionally provided along its periphery or circumference with agroove or recess 6 which is located at the inset or stepped region atthe zone furthest removed from the joint or abutting location 21 of twoneighboring tubular elements. The depth of groove 6 corresponds to thethickness of the ring 4. The inner flange 4a of the ring 4 formed by thefold-over or doubled-over portion 7 of its end region is fitted into theassociated groove 6, so that there is not possible any axialdisplacement of the ring 4 with respect to the tubular elements 1 and 3.Furthermore, it should be apparent that the size of the bore 22 of eachtubular element at its end region is the same as at every other randomlocation of such tubular element. The rounded portions 8 at the joint 21between two neighboring tubular elements only serve the purpose ofeliminating the danger of injury to a child moving through the con finesof a tube.

The metal ring 4 is axially cut or split. Both ends are detachablyconnected with one another by a screw coupling or connection 9, as bestseen by referring to FIGS. 2 and 4. The end regions of the ring 4possess a respective flange 29. The one flange possesses a threaded bore10 and the other flange a bore 11, the inner wall of which is smooth. Ascrew 12 is inserted through this bore 11 and engages with the threadedbore 10 to thus draw together both flanges 29 and hence the ring 4, sothat it bears with a certain tension or stress upon the tubular elements1 and 3 and therefore fixedly interconnects such with one another.

The diameter of the metallic ring in its open condition is greater thanits diameter in its closed condition.

The connection location can be equipped with any suitable safety device,which has not been here particularly shown since it is not important forthe understanding of the inventive concepts, in order to avoid anypossible accidental or unauthorized opening of the ring.

5 A further construction of the connection of two neighboring tubularelements such as the elements 1, 3 has been shown in FIG. 5. Suchconnection is here constructed as a plug-type or insertable connection.The end region 23 of the tubular element, here designated by referencenumeral 1, possesses a smaller external diameter D, than the tube outerdiameter D At the outer surface 14 of this stepped or inset constructedregion 24 there is formed a peripheral bead or raised portion 15.

The other end region 25 of the tubular element, here designated byreference numeral 3, possesses a smaller internal diameter D than thetube outer diameter D The inner surface of the bore possesses an innerbead or raised portion 16.

The cross-section of the peripheral bead 15 possesses the shape of asubstantially circular segment, as shown. The side surface 17 of theinner bead 16 which is located opposite the neighboring tubular element1 extends at an angle with regard to the lengthwise axis of the tube andthe side surface 18 located opposite thereto, viewed in cross-section,is constructed to possess the shape of one-quarter of a circle. It isworthy of mention that the radius of the circular segment of theperipheral bead 15 is smaller in comparison to the radius of theone-quarter circular-shaped inner bead 16.

With the inventive tubular-shaped constructed toyand sporting devicethere are detachably interconnected with one another tubular elements ofdifferent basic forms or shapes. Therefore, different possibilities ofusing the device as a toyand sporting or sports device are provided andthe device itself fulfills its intended purposes. It should be apparentthat owing to the selection of the sequence of the tubular elementswhich are connected with one another, and furthermore, due to the arc orcurved tubular elements which are randomly joined together with regardto the rotational axis, there can be obtained a multiplicity of shapesof the device, particularly because the variation possibilities are notonly present with regard to the horizontal but also with respect to thevertical. By virtue of the elements which are inclined with respect tothe horizontal, in the event that the diameter is selected to beappropriately great, there can be formed slides over which a person canmove along when located at the outside of the tubular elements in astraddling riding position. The surface properties of the inner wall ofthe tubular elements is irregular and roughened or coarse, so thatmovement through those tubular elements inclined with respect to thehorizontal is simplified by the thus existing frictional resistancebetween the body of the user and the inner wall of the structure S.

Furthermore, it is possible to move over the outside of the structure ina seated or standing position, the lastmentioned position requiring acertain amount of dexterity. Due to the presence of the cut-outs oropenings in the straight tubular elements the crawling path isinterrupted at a number of partial or individual elements. in this waythere is provided the possibility for larger children to move throughpartial elements of the structure which place a greater physical strainor burden upon the body and for smaller children to move through thosepartial or individual elements of the structure which place less of aphysical strain on the body, for instance only in the horizontallysituated tubular elements. Moreover, the windows or openings which areprovided along the crawling path eliminate or mitigate against anypossible fear of being in a closed space, in other words counteracts anytendency for the user to have a claustrophobic feeling.

Further, these openings serve as holding grips and as foot supports fora child located within the structure, or at the outside of the tubularelements, and which is moving along those tubular elements inclined withregard to the horizontal.

Due to the possibility of the random arrangement of the tubular elementsit is possible to not only bring about a change in the activity or useof the toyand sports device, but also the tubular elements can bearranged from an aesthetic view point such as to form a plasticconfiguration in the artistic sense, which, for instance, can be usedfor the identification of a public playground.

When the internal diameter of the individual elements is selected to besmall, then such can be used as a plug-connection type toy, wherein thechild can form different shapes and, in the event that the individualelements are not constructed rod-shaped but rather tubular-shaped, thenit is possible to roll balls or the like through a structure constructedin this way.

Irrespective whether the individual elements are tubular-shaped or solidrod-shaped, the outer diameter of the structure is essentially constant.

Finally, it will be recognized that the invention provides a set ofindividual elements, which are of circularshaped configuration and whichcan be detachably assembled together in a random position into a twistedor coiled structure, so that there are possible innumerable variationpossibilities of the coiled arrangement of the structure.

While there is shown and described present preferred connected togetherin series to form a threedimensionally coiled structure, the connectionsbetween the tubular elements being such as to maintain an axially fixedrelationship between the individual tubular elements while permittingthe individual tubular elements to undergo rotation relative to eachother around their respective axes so that upper situated tubularelements bear against tubular elements situated therebelow, saidelements having distinct ingress and egress openings whereby a child mayclimb therethrough.

2. A toyand sporting device as defined in claim 1, wherein the tubularelements are connected together by coupling members and each couplingmember is provided with connecting means which are interconnected ormesh in radial direction for the purpose of allowing a turning motion ofadjacent tubular elements relative to each other.

3. A toyand sporting device as defined in claim 1, wherein the outerdiameter of the structure, especially in the regions of the connectionsbetween adjacent tubular elements, is essentially constant over itsentire lengthwise extent.

4. A toyand sporting device as defined in claim 1, wherein said tubularelements define two different types of tubular elements from which thestructure is formed, the first type of tubular element comprising anarcuate element of a predetermined length and the second type asubstantially linear tubular element of a predetermined length.

5. A toyand sporting device as defined in claim 4, wherein the lineartubular element possesses a side wall having at least one opening.

6. A toyand sporting device as defined in claim 1, wherein said tubularelements are formed of plastic.

7. A toyand sporting device as defined in claim 6, wherein said plasticis glass fiber-reinforced polyester.

8. A toyand sporting device as defined in claim 1, wherein the structuredefines an internal space constructed as an accessible throughpassage.

9. A toyand sporting device as defined in claim 1, wherein each tubularelement has cut portions at both ends located substantiallyperpendicular to its axis.

10. A toyand sporting device as defined in claim 9, wherein neighboringtubular elements can be inserted within one another.

11. A toyand sporting device as defined in claim 1, further includingmeans defining a recess for each said tubular element, a ring forretaining together two neighboring tubular elements at their jointlocation, said ring engaging in said recesses of said neighboringtubular elements and extending over the joint location of said twoneighboring tubular elements.

12. A toyand sporting device as defined in claim 1 1, wherein eachtubular element is stepped along its periphery at its end region, theouter diameter of said ring being essentially the same as the outerdiameter of the tubular element, and each tubular element at the steppedregion at a location furthest removed from the end of the tubularelement possesses said recess along its periphery, said recess being ofsubstantially groovelike configuration.

13. A toyand sporting device as defined in claim 12, wherein the ring isa sheet metal ring, the marginal zone of the sheet metal ring possessesan inwardly folded portion and said folded portion is seated in anassociated groove-like recess.

14. A toyand sporting device as defined in claim 12, wherein the ring issplit at one location in axial direction, to form two ring ends, andmeans for detachably connecting together the two ring ends.

15. A toy and sporting device as defined in claim 14, wherein saiddetachably connecting means for the two ends of the ring comprisethreaded connection means.

16. A toy and sporting device as defined in claim 11, wherein the ringcomprises a sheet metal ring.

17. A toyand sporting device as defined in claim 1, wherein thestructure has an internal compartment having roughened surfaceproperties.

18. A toyand sporting device as defined in claim 1, wherein theindividual elements can be detachably connected with one another inrandom turned position.

1. A toy- and sporting device comprising a set of individualinterconnectable tubular elements of substantially circularcross-section, at least some of these tubular elements being constructedas arcuate elements, connected together in series to form athree-dimensionally coiled structure, the connections between thetubular elements being such as to maintain an axially fixed relationshipbetween the individual tubular elements while permitting the individualtubular elements to undergo rotation relative to each other around theirrespective axes so that upper situated tubular elements bear againsttubular elements situated therebelow, said elements having distinctingress and egress openings whereby a child may climb therethrough.
 2. Atoy- and sporting device as defined in claim 1, wherein the tubularelements are connected together by coupling members and each couplingmember is provided with connecting means which are interconnected ormesh in radial direction for the purpose of allowing a turning motion ofadjacent tubular elements relative to each other.
 3. A toy- and sportingdevice as defined in claim 1, wherein the outer diameter of thestructure, especially in the regions of the connections between adjacenttubular elements, is essentially constant over its entire lengthwiseextent.
 4. A toy- and sporting device as defined in claim 1, whereinsaid tubular elements define two different types of tubular elementsfrom which the structure is formed, the first type of tubular elementcomprising an arcuate element of a predetermined length and the secondtype a substantially linear tubular element of a predetermined length.5. A toy- and sporting device as defined in claim 4, wherein the lineartubular element possesses a side wall having at least one opening.
 6. Atoy- and sporting device as defined in claim 1, wherein said tubularelements are formed of plastic.
 7. A toy- and sporting device as definedin claim 6, wherein said plastic is glass fiber-reinforced polyester. 8.A toy- and sporting device as defined in claim 1, wherein the structuredefines an internal space constructed as an accessible throughpassage.9. A toy- and sporting device as defined in claim 1, wherein eachtubular element has cut portions at both ends located substantiallyperpendicular to its axis.
 10. A toy- and sporting device as defined inclaim 9, wherein neighboring tubular elements can be inserted within oneanother.
 11. A toy- and sporting device as defined in claim 1, furtherincluding means defining a recess for each said tubular element, a ringfor retaining together two neighboring tubular elements at their jointlocation, said ring engaging in said recesses of said neighboringtubular elements and extending over the joint location of said twoneighboring tubular elements.
 12. A toy- and sporting device as definedin claim 11, wherein each tubular element is stepped along its peripheryat its end region, the outer diameter of said ring being essentially thesame as the outer diameter of the tubular element, and each tubularelement at the stepped region at a location furthest removed from theend of the tubular element possesses said recess along its periphery,said recess being of substantially groove-like configuration.
 13. A toy-and sporting device as defined in claim 12, wherein the ring is a sheetmetal ring, the marginal zone of the sheet metal ring possesses aninwardly folded portion and said folded portion is seated in anassociated groove-like recess.
 14. A toy- and sporting device as definedin claim 12, wherein the ring is split at one location in axialdirection, to form two ring ends, and means for detachably connectingtogether the two ring ends.
 15. A toy- and sporting device as defined inclaim 14, wherein said detachably connecting means for the two ends ofthe ring comprise threaded connection means.
 16. A toy- and sportingdevice as defined in claim 11, wherein the ring comprises a sheet metalring.
 17. A toy- and sporting device as defined in claim 1, wherein thestructure has an internal compartment having roughened surfaceproperties.
 18. A toy- and sporting device as defined in claim 1,wherein the individual elements can be detachably connected with oneanother in random turned position.